Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-03-19 21:56
Does anyone know who played the clarinet solos for the soundtrack of the 1947 MGM mystery movie, "Song of the Thin Man"? If nobody knows that specific information, does anyone know who was principal clarinetist in the MGM orchestra from, say, 1945-1947?
"Song of the Thin Man" is the last in the series about Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy), but instead of the comedy that audiences expected, it's film noir with extremely dark humor. It's less popular than the others and not too well remembered, but well worth watching just for the music soundtrack (which has never been released as a record, as far as I can find out). The setting is the world of jazz and swing nightclubs. The soundtrack features a lot of original music, composed by David Snell, but none of the musicians got a credit.
Two of the major characters are clarinet players. It's obvious that neither actor knows how to play the clarinet. Some excellent clarinetist deserves a mention in the film noir encyclopedia entry I'm writing for _Scarlet Street_, but I'm totally striking out on finding this information. I've already checked the klarinet archives, asked a question on the klarinet list with no responses, and searched the web sites of ASCAP, AFTRA, the American Film Institute and the Internet Movie Database (plus a number of other sites the search engine turned up...), without results. I think my only hope is to find some individual who happens to *know* who played the clarinet in that movie, or who knows where to find out. Any ideas? Thanks very much!
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The Clarinet BBoard
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